[homemade] Carbonara (trying to get better at making pastas)
[homemade] Carbonara (trying to get better at making pastas)
by DietCokeand4ksJake
21 Comments
skinnyminnesota
Did you add cream?
outblues
Looks good, did you preheat your plate before serving?
Renizance
Did you perhaps add too much water? It looks like the sauce looks cloudy. Also the pasta water should be saturated with that lovely starch. Boil the pasta with less water to condense the starch extract during pasta cooking phase.
I_Sett
I’ll be honest, this doesn’t look like a great example of carbonara. I’ve been working on getting better at this dish as a home cook for the past year and maybe I can make a few suggestions:
It looks watery and broken. If you’re using guancialle (and it doesn’t look like it) you probably need a higher fat content on your pasta before you add the egg/cheese and pasta water. Cook down your guancialle pretty thoroughly on low heat. Toss your pasta in your pan with your fat to fully coat it. I do this in a cast iron pan that I cooked my meat in. I then transfer to a separate bowl with my eggs and cheese tempered slightly with my cooking water. Add pasta water until it’s just a bit thinner than you’d like (it’ll thicken up on its own if done right) and stir stir stir
You can also add a spoonful of flour to your cooking water prior to cooking your pasta to get that thick pasta-water like a restaurant would get (I also save mine between batches)
NGroark87
How much cheese did you use? I generally use 30g-50g per egg. Also that does about 90g/100g pasta. Think ratios are quite important. Personally I mix the cheese and eggs in a big bowl. When the pasta is cooked I then add it to the cured pork with a little cooking water and cook it briefly – I then add this to the egg mix and stir quickly to prevent it scrambling the eggs – I’ve always found this more reliable than adding the egg to the hot pan, as even with the heat off it often overcooks in my experience, but each to their own I guess.
SingleDraftSteve
Jesus that’s a lot of liquid….
JerkGurk
It’s a dish that sounds easy but to make it perfect definitely takes skill. I’ve made a few good ones, and a few okay ones. I bet it tasted alright, because all the ingredients in this dish are pretty damn delicious.
Jordan3176
2 eggs + 1 yolk, whisked with grated Parmesan. Cook the pasta and cook the guanciale, throw cooked pasta into the pan. Make sure it’s not too hot, add your egg and parm mixture.
You are looking for a really rich creamy texture, there should be no watery consistency. Adding a tiny bit of pasta water is needed but you have to be careful.
Carbonara done well has a fine line between making scrambled eggs and pasta, or perfect creamy carbonara. Practice makes perfect. On paper it’s the easiest meal to make, but it takes skill to master it.
Lelu_zel
Too much liquid
Waramp
People are commenting a lot on the appearance, which is valid, but I bet it was fucking delicious!
RoninGin
Looks like your sauce broke
Sarah_Whitman11
Looks amazing
Tall_Bread_3139
Honestly, you probably could have just cranked the stovetop to high and just kept tossing everything, and eventually the liquid would’ve dispersed, the fat and the cream and the egg would’ve emulsified. Lord knows I’ve made one or two watery sauces, not one of them couldn’t be fixed with more heat. I say this because people often forget that there’s starch in that pasta water, which in time would thicken any sauce.
Not “perfect”, but I’d eat the shit outa that. On your side quest travels, go ahead and do yourself a favor and try sautéing anchovies and toss your pasta in that. Then carbonara away. Chefs kiss.
mystr-oo
Check out Frank Proto’s version of Carbonara. I use bacon because guanccialli is not really available in my area. But his recipe is delicious and satifsying….
080087
Instead of the pasta water thing – way more consistent to just get flour and add a tiny bit of water to it. Mix that and use that as the thickener.
Ensures your thickener is the same strength every time (doesn’t fluctuate based on how much water you put in the pot) and has minimal water (which can otherwise make your sauce runnier or throw off the seasoning)
dtoddh
As others have mentioned, there’s room for improvement. But I’d still consume that with pleasure.
I’ve gotten into making Carbonara since our trip to Rome last year. This is with 100g Pancetta, 20g Parm, 10g Romano, 110g pasta, 3 eggs yolks, and 2g freshly ground black pepper.
As someone else said above, when the pasta is cooked, toss it in the pan where you cooked the pancetta/guanciale with some (not all) of the oil. Slowly add pasta water to it until it looks glossy. Also add a tbsp of the pancetta/guanciale oil to the egg/cheese mixture. When you’re mixing it all, adjust the creaminess/texture by adding pasta water in little amounts.
The one in the pic was a solid 7/10 imo, YMMV.
Edit: 100g pancetta was a bit much, prob 70g is better.
21 Comments
Did you add cream?
Looks good, did you preheat your plate before serving?
Did you perhaps add too much water? It looks like the sauce looks cloudy. Also the pasta water should be saturated with that lovely starch. Boil the pasta with less water to condense the starch extract during pasta cooking phase.
I’ll be honest, this doesn’t look like a great example of carbonara. I’ve been working on getting better at this dish as a home cook for the past year and maybe I can make a few suggestions:
It looks watery and broken. If you’re using guancialle (and it doesn’t look like it) you probably need a higher fat content on your pasta before you add the egg/cheese and pasta water. Cook down your guancialle pretty thoroughly on low heat.
Toss your pasta in your pan with your fat to fully coat it. I do this in a cast iron pan that I cooked my meat in. I then transfer to a separate bowl with my eggs and cheese tempered slightly with my cooking water. Add pasta water until it’s just a bit thinner than you’d like (it’ll thicken up on its own if done right) and stir stir stir
You can also add a spoonful of flour to your cooking water prior to cooking your pasta to get that thick pasta-water like a restaurant would get (I also save mine between batches)
How much cheese did you use? I generally use 30g-50g per egg. Also that does about 90g/100g pasta. Think ratios are quite important. Personally I mix the cheese and eggs in a big bowl. When the pasta is cooked I then add it to the cured pork with a little cooking water and cook it briefly – I then add this to the egg mix and stir quickly to prevent it scrambling the eggs – I’ve always found this more reliable than adding the egg to the hot pan, as even with the heat off it often overcooks in my experience, but each to their own I guess.
Jesus that’s a lot of liquid….
It’s a dish that sounds easy but to make it perfect definitely takes skill. I’ve made a few good ones, and a few okay ones. I bet it tasted alright, because all the ingredients in this dish are pretty damn delicious.
2 eggs + 1 yolk, whisked with grated Parmesan.
Cook the pasta and cook the guanciale, throw cooked pasta into the pan. Make sure it’s not too hot, add your egg and parm mixture.
You are looking for a really rich creamy texture, there should be no watery consistency. Adding a tiny bit of pasta water is needed but you have to be careful.
Carbonara done well has a fine line between making scrambled eggs and pasta, or perfect creamy carbonara. Practice makes perfect.
On paper it’s the easiest meal to make, but it takes skill to master it.
Too much liquid
People are commenting a lot on the appearance, which is valid, but I bet it was fucking delicious!
Looks like your sauce broke
Looks amazing
Honestly, you probably could have just cranked the stovetop to high and just kept tossing everything, and eventually the liquid would’ve dispersed, the fat and the cream and the egg would’ve emulsified. Lord knows I’ve made one or two watery sauces, not one of them couldn’t be fixed with more heat. I say this because people often forget that there’s starch in that pasta water, which in time would thicken any sauce.
I would destroyyyyy that. Nice
https://youtu.be/SsUGomHw85o?si=Ke503KZdsREFY1Mc
I really enjoy this method and recipe.
Simple yet looks stunningly delicious
Not “perfect”, but I’d eat the shit outa that. On your side quest travels, go ahead and do yourself a favor and try sautéing anchovies and toss your pasta in that. Then carbonara away. Chefs kiss.
Check out Frank Proto’s version of Carbonara. I use bacon because guanccialli is not really available in my area. But his recipe is delicious and satifsying….
Instead of the pasta water thing – way more consistent to just get flour and add a tiny bit of water to it. Mix that and use that as the thickener.
Ensures your thickener is the same strength every time (doesn’t fluctuate based on how much water you put in the pot) and has minimal water (which can otherwise make your sauce runnier or throw off the seasoning)
As others have mentioned, there’s room for improvement. But I’d still consume that with pleasure.
https://preview.redd.it/554zy8vk66ng1.jpeg?width=3211&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6e43cc4717d1afa6b8146a2fec1250564a97c663
I’ve gotten into making Carbonara since our trip to Rome last year. This is with 100g Pancetta, 20g Parm, 10g Romano, 110g pasta, 3 eggs yolks, and 2g freshly ground black pepper.
As someone else said above, when the pasta is cooked, toss it in the pan where you cooked the pancetta/guanciale with some (not all) of the oil. Slowly add pasta water to it until it looks glossy. Also add a tbsp of the pancetta/guanciale oil to the egg/cheese mixture. When you’re mixing it all, adjust the creaminess/texture by adding pasta water in little amounts.
The one in the pic was a solid 7/10 imo, YMMV.
Edit: 100g pancetta was a bit much, prob 70g is better.